Groove Candy Hip-Hop Night Returns Aug. 26

After more than a year of occasional one-offs and special events, one of the PHX's best hip-hop nights is making its return as a weekly.

Groove Candy, the ultra-fly affair starring Power 98.3's DJ M2 makes its comeback on August 26, offering the same swanked-up selection of neo-soul, reggae, and classics each and every Thursday at Dirty Pretty in Scottsdale.

As with its previous incarnations of Groove Candy, there's an upscale dress code - so keep the "Free Weezy" teesin your dresser -- and drink specials galore (in this case, a hosted Skyy bar until 11 p.m. and two-for-one deals on Long Islands, Hennessey, and Grey Goose before midnight)

The grand re-debut party will also celebrate four-year anniversary of the night, which has had a somewhat bumpy history over its existence.

It first premiered in 2006 at bygone Tempe spot The Door before relocating to two other venues (the equally defunct Lyte Lounge in Scottsdale and the still-poppin Doc's Place). After three moves in as many years, it was eventually cancelled and replaced with one-off appearances around such holidays as Thanksgiving and special events like the Erykah Badu concert a few weeks back.

Hopefully this version of Groove Candy will stick around longer than its predecessors, especially since its quite a potent party, featuring appearances by some of the Valley's best hip-hop artists. Given its Thursday night slot, one has to wonder if there will be catty competition between Groove Candy and the long-reigning kings of Thump Day hip-hop over at the Blunt Club.

After all, there certainly was plenty of dissing going on between the two camps a few years back (as documented by Niki D'Andrea in her "Raising Terrazona" cover story from 2008).

Here's hoping there's enough room in the East Valley for two off-the-hook Thursday night throwdowns.